Ryu back for Korea in must-win game against Chinese Taipei (10 p.m. ET, FS2)

TOKYO -- Chinese Taipei enters a game that is an absolute must-win if it wants any chance of advancing. After dropping its first two games against Australia and Japan, failing to push a run across the board, the offense teed off for 14 runs against Czechia. While the victory has likely saved the team from having to play in another Qualifier, it will need to defeat Korea and hope for some luck to advance to Miami.

Korea (1-1) has to return on a short night's sleep after dropping a thrilling, 8-6, homer-filled contest against Japan. The lineup continues to look impressive, but the ability of the pitching staff to keep runs off the board continues to be a major question mark. Now, though, Korea turns to Hyun Jin Ryu, the pitcher who helped lead them to its greatest national team success in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Will that be enough to quiet the Chinese Taipei bats and set Korea up for a chance to advance?

Here’s what you need to know about the matchup:

When and where: Saturday, 10 p.m. ET at the Tokyo Dome (Sunday, noon, local time)

How you can watch: The game is available on FS2 in the United States and streaming on Netflix in Japan.

How you can listen: There is a free English-language audio stream available for every game.

Probable starting pitchers: Ruei-Yang Gu Lin vs. Hyun Jin Ryu

After winning the Chinese Professional Baseball League MVP Award in 2024 after going 10-2 with a 1.66 ERA -- becoming the first pitcher to win the MVP Award since 2006 -- Gu Lin was posted to NPB’s Nippon-Ham Fighters for the 2025 season. An abdominal injury caused him to miss most of the season, so he made only seven appearances, posting a 3.62 ERA in 32 1/3 innings while striking out over a batter per inning. He’ll make his World Baseball Classic debut for the team in this game.

Ryu was the winning pitcher in the 2008 Olympics, tossing 8 1/3 innings in that contest, before helping the team to its best ever World Baseball Classic finish in 2009. Seventeen years later, Ryu is once again wearing a Korean national team jersey. At 38 years old, he may not be the same pitcher who won the pitching triple crown in the KBO as a 19-year-old, nor the one who was a two-time Cy Young Award finalist in the Major Leagues, but he still knows how to pitch. He went 9-7 with a 3.23 ERA last year in the KBO, while continuing to display the excellent command he's been known for throughout his career.

What's at stake: Coming off a Premier12 championship in 2024, baseball fandom had reached a fever pitch in Taiwan. Hopes were high entering the tournament that the team could advance beyond pool play, but injuries to Cubs prospect Jonathon Long, Tigers prospect Hao-Yu Lee and captain Chieh-Hsien Chen depleted the lineup. The victory against Czechia will most likely confirm the team’s place in the next World Baseball Classic and it is not officially eliminated from a chance of advancing, but a lot of things would need to break right.

While the loss to Japan stings, especially considering they went up 3-0 early against the country's greatest rivals, many expected Japan to sweep its way through the pool with the battle always coming down to second place. If Korea can win and Australia also loses to Japan on Sunday, then Korea and Australia will enter the final game with identical 2-1 records. Then it simply becomes a win-and-advance contest.

Matchup history: Korea defeated Chinese Taipei, 2-0, in the first World Baseball Classic game in 2006, with Jae Weong Seo getting the victory and Chan Ho Park pitching the last three innings for the save.

Korea shut out Chinese Taipei once again in 2009, winning 9-0, with Ryu earning the win with three shutout innings. Jin Young Lee hit a grand slam in the victory.

Chinese Taipei nearly got its first win against Korea in 2013, leading 2-0 into the bottom of the eighth when a Dae-Ho Lee RBI single and a Jung Ho Kang two-run shot sunk Chinese Taipei, 3-2.

The teams faced off again in 2017 and Korea won, 11-8. It was another heartbreaker for Chinese Taipei, as the game went into extra innings before an Euiji Yang sacrifice fly and a Taekyun Kim two-run home run gave Korea the edge.